Broom sleeve

ABSTRACT

Protective sleeve for a broom comprises a tapered sleeve which envelops bristles of a broom and locks in place when pulled over the bristles. A constriction in the sleeve near the wider end thereof compresses the bristles as the sleeve is pulled thereover, and as the bristles thereafter expand to the normal width the sleeve is effectively retained over the bristles.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,860,115

Laske Jan. 14, 1975 BROOM SLEEVE 3,136,409 6/1964 Schumann 206/151 B 1 meme Louis Lawrence Luke, 556 3193132 51132? ZLlfiififijiiiii.......JJ:33IJ:::J. 32732 11,?

B1vd., Grays Lake, 111. 60030 [22] Filed: Mar- 8, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 527,113 12/1928 Germany 312/206 [21] Appl. No.: 339,116 136,258 12/1919 Great Britain... 219,842 8/1924 Great Britain 15/247 255,259 1/1949 Switzerland 312/20"! [52] U.S. Cl 206/361, 15/247, 93/35 R,

150/52 R, 156/251 P E D 1B1 511 1m. (:1 A46b 17/04, B31b 49/04 Q j f jf d d S k [58] Field of Search 15/168-170, omey 15/184, 247, 248 R, 257.2; 150/52 R; 206/15.1 B, 361; 211/66; 229/88; 248/111, [57] ABSTRACT 112; 312/206 207 Protective sleeve for a broom comprises a tapered 5 6 R t d sleeve which envelops bristles of a broom and locks in 1 e erences place when pulled over the bristles. A constriction in UNITED STATES PATENTS the sleeve near the wider end thereof compresses the 131,855 10/1872 Crandal 229/88 bristles as the sleeve is pulled thereover, and as the 234,289 11/1880 Kent 248/111 bristles thereafter expand to the normal width the 335725 11/1906 9 1 sleeve is effectively retained over the bristles. 1,138,305 5/1915 Mlllcr 15/247 2,485,068 10/1949 Suntan 15/247 X 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures I ll 24 17 11'. [j

BROOM SLEEVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a protective sleeve for brooms such as household brooms, whisk brooms, brushes, and the like.

When marketed, the bristles of brooms are protected by an envelope or pocket which also serves in many instances as a marketing aid bearing promotional materials. Heretofore such envelopes or pockets have been open-ended or closed on three sides by heat-sealing, taping, stapling or, similar expedients. Not only such packaging methods are expensive because of the additional labor and materials that are required for closing the envelope or pocket once the broom is inserted therein, such envelopes or pockets tend to undesirably flatten out the bristles and also prevent the ultimate consumer to feel the bristles prior to purchase. Open ended sleeves are also costly to attach and, moreover, such sleeves are readily detached during handling and fail to provide the desired protection.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the aforementioned shortcomings and to provide a protective sleeve for brooms which is relatively inexpensive, easily placed over bristles of the broom, and readily retained in place. Still other objects of this invention will present themselves to one skilled in the art upon reference to the ensuing specification, the drawings, and the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a protective sleeve for a broom, the broom having a handle and bristles of predetermined width attached at one end to the handle, which comprises a tapered sleeve member for receiving the bristles and provided with first and second open ends, said first open end being narrower than the width of the free end of said bristles and said second open end being wider than the width of the free end of said bristles; and a constriction in said sleeve member near said second open end situated so that the effective width of said sleeve member at said constriction is less than the width of the free end of said bristles but permits the bristles to pass therethrough when compressed.

A broom is packaged by passing the broom handle through the protective sleeve in a direction from said second open end to said first open end, pulling the bristles into said sleeve and past said constriction while compressing the bristles, and permitting the free end of the bristles to expand to the normal width thereof when past said constriction, thereby locking said protective sleeve in place over the bristles.

The term broom when used herein and in the ap pended claims is taken to mean a bound bundle of bristles on a handle and used for sweeping or brushing and includes various household brooms, whisk brooms, and the like as well as paint brushes and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view ofa broom provided with a protective sleeve embodying the present invention;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, broom 10 comprising handle 11 and a bundle of bristles 12 attached thereto is provided with tapered protective sleeve 13 which envclops bristles 12. Open end 14 of sleeve 13 surrounds broom 10 below the point of attachment for bristles I2 and open end 15 of sleeve 13, wider than the free end of bristles 12, remains open so that a consumer can feel bristles 12 while contemplating a purchase. Moreover, open end 15 permits ventilation or breathing for bristles 12 which is essential for brooms derived from corn products.

A constriction is provided in sleeve 13 near open end 15 by means of regions 16 and 17 which comprise adjacent portions of sleeve 13 fused together, adhesively attached, or similarly affixed to each other. Configuration of regions 16 and 17 is not critical. While in FIG. 1 regions 16 and 17 shown are substantially circular, the regions can be oblong as shown in FIG. 2 for regions 26 and 27 or they can assume other convenient shapes. Regions 16 and 17 are spaced from each other so that the effective width of sleeve 13 at the constriction is less than the width of free end 12A of the bristles.

The packaging of a broom is shown in FIG. 2. Handle 21 of broom 20 is first passed through open end 25 of tapered sleeve 23 and then through open end 24 in the direction of the arrow. As broom 20 is pulled through sleeve 23, or alternatively as sleeve 23 is pulled over broom 20, bristles 22 pass through the constriction formed by regions 26 and 27 and are compressed. When the entire bundle of bristles 22 has passed beyond the constriction, bristles 22 spring back or expand to the normal width thereof and lock sleeve 23 in place. Dimensions of a sleeve such as sleeve 23 are selected so that open end 24 is narrower than the width of the free end 28 of bristles 22 and open end 25 is somewhat wider than the width of free end 28 of the bristles.

Optionally, a sleeve such as sleeve 23 can also be provided with lip 18 which provides means for attaching backing card or other promotional material, if desired, and also facilitates insertion of broom 20 into sleeve -23. Perforations 19 can be provided in lip 18 to facilitate the easy removal thereof.

The sleeves of this invention are useful for protecting the bristles ofa broom while on display and while being shipped, yet the sleeves do not preclude a consumers investigation of the product prior to purchase. In addition, the sleeves provide convenient surfaces for affixation of promotional materials, brand names, and similar information.

Preferred material of construction for the protective sleeves of this invention is a web of a thermoplastic material such as polyethylene sheet, or the like. However, other sheet materials such as paper, or the like can also be used.

When utilizing a thermoplastic web, a plurality of protective sleeves of this invention can be readily manufactured by providing a pair of superimposed webs such as web 29 and web 30 shown in FIG. 3. Perforations 31 and 32 can be provided along the longitudinal edges of web 29 so as to define ribbons 33 and 34, respectively, which will ultimately'form a lip for each protective sleeve as shown in FIG. 2. Spaced but converging heat-sealing knives or bars are then placed on the superimposed webs as indicated by the cutting lines. The particular spacing of the heat-sealing knives is determined by the desired sleeve dimensions which, in turn, are controlled by the width of a particular bristle bundle of the broom to be packaged. The particular arrangement shown in FIG. 3 permits complete utilization of the thermoplastic web and produces two sleeves in each sealing cycle.

The desired constriction in each sleeve can be formed by fusing regions 36, 37, 38 and 39 at the time the opposed non-parallel edges of each sleeve are fused to form a seam, or these regions, as well as region 35, can be formed before or after the side seams are formed.

The foregoing discussion and the drawings are illustrative and are not to be taken as limiting. Still other variations and rearrangements of manufacturing steps within the spirit and scope of this invention are possible as will readily become apparent to a skilled artisan.

I claim:

1. A protective sleeve for a broom, having bristles attached at one end of a handle, said sleeve enveloping the bristles and locking in place when pulled over the bristles comprising:

a tapered flexible sheet sleeve having opposite first and second open ends, said first open end being narrower than the free end of said bristles and said second open end being wider than the free end of said bristles and a constriction in said sleeve near said second open end constricting said sleeve to a width less than the width of the free end of the bristles and allowing the bristles to pass therethrough when compressed and thereafter expand to normal width thereby locking the sleeve in place over the bristles said sleeve comprising a pair of substantially trapezoidal sheets of a thermoplastic material joined together along opposed non-parallel edges thereof.

2. The protective sleeve in accordance with claim 1 wherein the constriction is a pair of adjacent sleeve regions affixed to each other.

3. The protective sleeve in accordance with claim 2 wherein said adjacent sleeve regions are substantially circular.

4. The protective sleeve in accordance with claim 1 further provided with a lip along said second open end. =l= l 

1. A protective sleeve for a broom, having bristles attached at one end of a handle, said sleeve enveloping the bristles and locking in place when pulled over the bristles comprising: a tapered flexible sheet sleeve having opposite first and second open ends, said first open end being narrower than the free end of said bristles and said second open end being wider than the free end of said bristles and a constriction in said sleeve near said second open end constricting said sleeve to a width less than the width of the free end of the bristles and allowing the bristles to pass therethrough when compressed and thereafter expand to normal width thereby locking the sleeve in place over the bristles said sleeve comprising a pair of substantially trapezoidal sheets of a thermoplastic material joined together along opposed non-parallel edges thereof.
 2. The protective sleeve in accordance with claim 1 wherein the constriction is a pair of adjacent sleeve regions affixed to each other.
 3. The protective sleeve in accordance with claim 2 wherein said adjacent sleeve regions are substantially circular.
 4. The protective sleeve in accordance with claim 1 further provided with a lip along said second open end. 